The Bernard Ebbers defense team wasted little time yesterday in painting Scott Sullivan as a wealthy, drug-using felon.

They had the once-highly paid WorldCom CFO describe for the jury his $10 million retention bonus, $15 million mansion-on-a-lake in Boca Raton, Fla., the $3 million he paid for the 4-½ acre parcel and the four years he spent designing the home, guest home, boat house and grounds – and still was only 90 percent complete.

It was going to take up to $2 million more to finish, Sullivan testified.

Oh yeah, and he paid cash for all of it – took the money out of savings.

Heck, Sullivan, who already admitted on the stand that he used coke and smoked pot with WorldCom employees, explained matter of factly that it was going to run him $50,000 a year just to mow the lawn and keep the place clean.

Reid Weingarten, Ebbers’ lead lawyer, who opened his cross examination of Sullivan yesterday, is apparently hoping that tales of a wealthy lifestyle will help torch Sullivan’s credibility in the eyes of the blue-collar jury.

“Isn’t it true that your sale of stock options in 2000 netted you roughly $45 million,” Sullivan was asked.

“That’s not true,” he replied.

“Not true?” asked Weingarten.

“No,” said Sullivan. “My recollection is that it was about $29 million.”